Izazovi opstetricijske anestezije: otežana vizualizacija larinksa

Obstetric anesthesia is one of the high risk subspecialties of anesthesia practice. Anesthesia related complications are the sixth leading cause of maternal mortality. Difficult or failed intubation following induction of general anesthesia for CS remains the major contributory factor to anesthesia-related maternal complications. The airway management of obstetric patients is a challenging issue for several reasons. Anatomic and physiologic changes related to pregnancy may increase the difficult and failed intubation rates compared to the general surgical population. Proper evaluation of the airway anatomy and airway structures is vital to prevent airway management related catastrophes. In addition to basic airway and intubation equipment, each anesthesia department must have difficult intubation equipment cart including fiber optic laryngoscope, video laryngoscopes, and different types of laryngeal masks. It is essential that all anesthesiologists have a preconceived and well thought-out algorithm and emergency airway equipment to deal with airway emergencies during difficult or failed intubation of a parturient.Opstetricijska anestezija je visokorizična anesteziološka supspecijalnost. Komplikacije vezane uz anesteziju su šesti vodeći uzrok majčine smrtnosti. Otežana ili nemoguća intubacija nakon uvoda u opću anesteziju je glavni čimbenik koji doprinosi komplikacijama vezanim uz anesteziju rodilja. Zbrinjavanje dišnoga puta u rodilja je izazov iz više razloga. Anatomske i fiziološke promjene u trudnoći povećavaju učestalost otežane i nemoguće intubacije u odnosu na opću kiruršku populaciju. Zadovoljavajuća evaluacija anatomije dišnoga puta i dišnih struktura je životno važna da bi se spriječile katastrofe vezane uz zbrinjavanje dišnoga puta. Uz osnovnu opremu za dišni put i intubaciju svaki anesteziološki odjel mora imati kolica s opremom za otežani dišni put koja uključuju fiberoptički laringoskop, videolaringoskop i različite vrste laringealnih maski. Nužno je da svi anesteziolozi imaju unaprijed osmišljene i dobro razrađene algoritme i opremu za hitno zbrinjavanje dišnoga puta kako bi postupali s hitnoćama dišnoga puta u otežanoj ili nemogućoj intubaciji rodilja

Patient Safety during Propofol Sedation before and after Implementation of Capnography Monitoring

Endoscopic procedures are routinely applied to cancer screening programs and surveillance. The preferred technique is usually deep sedation with propofol being a convenient agent allowing for a quicker patient recovery while maintaining a similar safety profile compared to traditional agents. However, adverse events, including respiratory depression and consequent undesirable cardiovascular side effects, may occur. The goal of this work is to evaluate the patient safety impact of adding capnography during endoscopic procedures under deep propofol sedation. Data were retrospectively collected from patients undergoing deep, procedural sedation for gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy in October 2019 to January 2021 in a single Turkish university hospital. Included in the analysis were all adult patients classified by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) as I–IV, who were scheduled for GI endoscopy utilizing propofol alone or in combination. Data on 1840 patients were collected, of whom 1610 (730 pre- and 880 post-capnography implemention) met inclusion criteria. The primary outcome was a change in the composite incidence of mild oxygen desaturation (SpO2 75–90% for 2 60 s), bradycardia (25% from baseline). Without capnography, on average, 7.5 events of the primary endpoint were observed per 100 procedures and 2.9 with additional capnography monitoring (p < 0.001). A significant reduction was observed for mild oxygen desaturation, with a resulting odds ratio of 0.25 (95% CI 0.14 to 0.46). ASA I patients had the highest difference in combined incidence of any oxygen desaturation of 5.85% in the pre-capnography group and 0.64% in the post-capnography group. Although procedural sedation using propofol is not associated with severe adverse events, the incidence of composite adverse events could be reduced with the addition of capnography monitoring

What About Compressing the Oesophagus with an Ultrasound Probe for a Modified Sellick Maneuver?

Objective: Debates continue about the cricoid pressure, which has been used for many years to prevent gastric aspiration during intubation. Using ultrasound, the effects of this maneuver and alternatives like paralaryngeal pressure are revealed. The aim of this observational study was to determine the effect of paralaryngeal pressure with an ultrasound probe on the oesophageal diameter in patients with different body mass indexes and neck circumferences

Challenges of Obstetric Anesthesia: Difficult Laryngeal Visualization

Obstetric anesthesia is one of the high risk subspecialties of anesthesia practice. Anesthesia related complications are the sixth leading cause of maternal mortality. Difficult or failed intubation following induction of general anesthesia for CS remains the major contributory factor to anesthesia-related maternal complications. The airway management of obstetric patients is a challenging issue for several reasons. Anatomic and physiologic changes related to pregnancy may increase the difficult and failed intubation rates compared to the general surgical population. Proper evaluation of the airway anatomy and airway structures is vital to prevent airway management related catastrophes. In addition to basic airway and intubation equipment, each anesthesia department must have difficult intubation equipment cart including fiber optic laryngoscope, video laryngoscopes, and different types of laryngeal masks. It is essential that all anesthesiologists have a preconceived and well thought-out algorithm and emergency airway equipment to deal with airway emergencies during difficult or failed intubation of a parturient

WHAT ABOUT COMPRESSING THE OESOPHAGUS WITH AN ULTRASOUND PROBE FOR A MODIFIED SELLICK MANOEUVRE?

OBJECTIVE: Debates continue about the cricoid pressure, which has been used for many years to prevent gastric aspiration during intubation. Using ultrasound, the effects of this maneuver and alternatives like paralaryngeal pressure are revealed. The aim of this observational study was to determine the effect of paralaryngeal pressure with an ultrasound probe on the oesophageal diameter in patients with different body mass indexes and neck circumferences. METHODS: After measuring the neck circumference at the level of the cricoid cartilage, the oesophagus was visualized by ultrasonography. Compression was applied medially at a 45° angle toward the vertebral column by the ultrasound probe and oesophageal anteroposterior outer diameters were measured. Correlations between body mass index, neck circumference, oesophageal diameter, and oesophageal diameter change ratio were evaluated with Pearson’s r value. RESULTS: One hundred ten volunteers (52 women and 58 men) with mean age 33.7 ± 8.02 years and mean body mass index 25.6 ± 4.65 kg m(−2) were recruited. The oesophagus was located 78.18% partially to the left, 4.54% completely to the left, 1.81% to the right of the cricoid ring. In 15.45%, oesophagus could not be displayed. The mean diameter of the oesophagus was 7.6 ± 1.1 mm before pressure and 5.6 ± 0.09 mm after pressure (P .05). However, weak correlation was found between diameter change percentage and neck circumference (r = −0.33; P = .016). CONCLUSIONS: Paralaryngeal pressure with an ultrasound probe has the potential to occlude the oesophagus and may be effective in all patient groups

Epidemiology of surgery associated acute kidney injury (EPIS-AKI): a prospective international observational multi-center clinical study

Purpose: The incidence, patient features, risk factors and outcomes of surgery-associated postoperative acute kidney injury (PO-AKI) across different countries and health care systems is unclear. Methods: We conducted an international prospective, observational, multi-center study in 30 countries in patients undergoing major surgery (&gt; 2-h duration and postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) or high dependency unit admission). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of PO-AKI within 72&nbsp;h of surgery defined by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Secondary endpoints included PO-AKI severity and duration, use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality, and ICU and hospital length of stay. Results: We studied 10,568 patients and 1945 (18.4%) developed PO-AKI (1236 (63.5%) KDIGO stage 1500 (25.7%) KDIGO stage 2209 (10.7%) KDIGO stage 3). In 33.8% PO-AKI was persistent, and 170/1945 (8.7%) of patients with PO-AKI received RRT in the ICU. Patients with PO-AKI had greater ICU (6.3% vs. 0.7%) and hospital (8.6% vs. 1.4%) mortality, and longer ICU (median 2 (Q1-Q3, 1-3) days vs. 3 (Q1-Q3, 1-6) days) and hospital length of stay (median 14 (Q1-Q3, 9-24) days vs. 10 (Q1-Q3, 7-17) days). Risk factors for PO-AKI included older age, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease), type, duration and urgency of surgery as well as intraoperative vasopressors, and aminoglycosides administration. Conclusion: In a comprehensive multinational study, approximately one in five patients develop PO-AKI after major surgery. Increasing severity of PO-AKI is associated with a progressive increase in adverse outcomes. Our findings indicate that PO-AKI represents a significant burden for health care worldwide

Post-anaesthesia pulmonary complications after use of muscle relaxants (POPULAR): a multicentre, prospective observational study

Background Results from retrospective studies suggest that use of neuromuscular blocking agents during general anaesthesia might be linked to postoperative pulmonary complications. We therefore aimed to assess whether the use of neuromuscular blocking agents is associated with postoperative pulmonary complications. Methods We did a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study. Patients were recruited from 211 hospitals in 28 European countries. We included patients (aged ≥18 years) who received general anaesthesia for any in-hospital procedure except cardiac surgery. Patient characteristics, surgical and anaesthetic details, and chart review at discharge were prospectively collected over 2 weeks. Additionally, each patient underwent postoperative physical examination within 3 days of surgery to check for adverse pulmonary events. The study outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications from the end of surgery up to postoperative day 28. Logistic regression analyses were adjusted for surgical factors and patients’ preoperative physical status, providing adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and adjusted absolute risk reduction (ARRadj). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01865513. Findings Between June 16, 2014, and April 29, 2015, data from 22803 patients were collected. The use of neuromuscular blocking agents was associated with an increased incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients who had undergone general anaesthesia (1658 [7·6%] of 21694); ORadj 1·86, 95% CI 1·53–2·26; ARRadj –4·4%, 95% CI –5·5 to –3·2). Only 2·3% of high-risk surgical patients and those with adverse respiratory profiles were anaesthetised without neuromuscular blocking agents. The use of neuromuscular monitoring (ORadj 1·31, 95% CI 1·15–1·49; ARRadj –2·6%, 95% CI –3·9 to –1·4) and the administration of reversal agents (1·23, 1·07–1·41; –1·9%, –3·2 to –0·7) were not associated with a decreased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Neither the choice of sugammadex instead of neostigmine for reversal (ORadj 1·03, 95% CI 0·85–1·25; ARRadj –0·3%, 95% CI –2·4 to 1·5) nor extubation at a train-of-four ratio of 0·9 or more (1·03, 0·82–1·31; –0·4%, –3·5 to 2·2) was associated with better pulmonary outcomes. Interpretation We showed that the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs in general anaesthesia is associated with an increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Anaesthetists must balance the potential benefits of neuromuscular blockade against the increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications